● nature ● wildlife ● conservation ● sustainability ●

jay

I am a big fan of corvids and have been wanting to write a post about them for quite a while… so here it is! I don’t have a particular story to tell, or pet crow to write about (I wish), but just wanted to share some information and my favourite facts about this particular beautiful bird family!

So first things first – which UK birds are actually in the corvid/crow family?

Carrion Crow – An all-black bird that although is known to be fearless, can actually be quite wary of humans – they will however take advantage if food is put out for them in gardens. They are relatively solitary and can be seen alone or in pairs, but there will be several around in one area as they stay close to their roost.

Chough – A beautiful black crow with a red bill and legs! They can be found in the west of the British Isles diving and swooping near cliff edges… in fact I saw them for the first time in 2015 around South Stack, Anglesey.

Hooded Crow – The hooded crow is closely related to the carrion crow but they have grey ‘hoods’ and are mainly distributed across in North and West of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. They are more sociable than carrion crows however, so can be found feeding and ‘mixing’ together.

Jackdaw – A small, black crow with pale eyes and a characteristic silvery sheen to the back of their heads. Jackdaws really make me smile!

Jay – Again, I saw my first jay (that I was aware of) in Anglesey. They are shy woodland birds and do not move far from the trees. They are very colourful with mainly pinkish-brown feathers and black-and-white wings, with eye-catching blue patches.

Magpie – A noisy bird, but so interesting to watch! They can often be seen scavenging together or spread out across a particular area. Magpies are very distinctive with their black-and-white plumage and long tail, which shines blue, purple and green in the sun.

Raven – Ravens are the largest member of the crow family. They are all-black like carrion crows but have larger bills and long wings. I have been told that you probably think you have seen a raven until you actually see one and then realise just how big they really are… and that what you saw in the past was probably just a large carrion crow! I haven’t actually seen one in real life!

Rook – Rooks have a greyish-white face, thinner beak than a carrion crow and a peaked head. They are sociable birds, and actually roost and feed with jackdaws.

It is good to know that all eight of these crows are RSPB green listed, meaning that they occur regularly in the UK!

Corvids are extremely intelligent for their size and are deemed among the most intelligent birds studied. Some demonstrate self-awareness and even tool-making skills, which I find very exciting! It’s not surprising though once you know that their total brain-to-body mass ratio is equal to that of great apes and cetaceans, and only slightly lower than in humans. Amazing right!?

FUN FACTS:

Corvids are emotional creatures – they show happiness, sadness and anger. They are also know to react to hunger and danger by vocalising their feelings… much like me!

They have brilliant memories and are masters at hiding, moving and storing food in different locations, and remembering where it all is.

Crows form huge roosts together where they rest in the evening, but during the day they separate into groups and tend to stay within a particular area around their roost.

They build fake nests in their roost to fool predators and make their colony appear bigger! (This is one of my favourite facts that I like to tell people).